In Game Pokemon: do you choose because you like them or they're 'strong'?

[mysticninetales]

I use the Pokemon I like regardless of strength, though often the stronger ones are used more often. To me it's more important that I have a variety of types in my team than for them all to be extremely strong, but if I don't particularly like a Pokemon, I tend to lose interest in training it quite quickly.

 

[Craftknight]

I use pokemon I like. When I got white 2 I took Tepig(which I'm not a fan of), went out and caught a Sunkern, put Tepig in the pc and never looked back.

 

[Mythicalzoe]

i only use those who visually appeal to me

but as a kid i liked big bulky mons since well i was a stupid kid who liked monster being depicted as strong big and powerful

 

[Vyrron]

I only use pokemon that I like. If they're strong too then great, if they're not, still great.

 

[Joshawott]

When I make an in-game team, I prefer to try and use Pokémon I have never used before (Aside from the starter) and wouldn't want to use competitively, so more often than not, I end up using Pokémon that I know have no competitive potential. For example, in my JP White 2 I used a Scolipede and in my EN Black 2 I used an Altaria - two Pokémon I would never think of using competitively.

However, there are some Pokémon I wouldn't use because of how bad they are - which is why I didn't use my shiny Sunkern in my Black 2 team and I decided against using Azurill because of how weak it is before it evolves. Yet I'm using a Stunfisk in Black - so go figure.

 

[TheCapsFan]

I'm a follower of Karenism, but I like to choose strong 'mons that I like.

 

[Berrenta]

I usually choose the ones I like and help them be strong. I also train moves according to roles (status moves for Pranksters, for example).

There are various reasons why I like certain Pokémon: either they're cute (why I chose Oshawott as a starter), beautiful (I love the appearance of Ninetales and Lilligant, for example), interesting (I have 3 Musharna, one for each ability, for that reason, so there ), or intriguing (Krookodile, Volcarona, and Houndoom). Some, however, I like because of mere concept (like Marowak and Breloom).

Currently I am training enough to fill at least 3 or 4 teams. Whoever I train depends on who I feel like training. I also breed some of my 'mon, either for desirable IVs or egg moves.

 

[Koukoubean]

I usually choose Pokémon going by both criteria. Sometimes I like them because they're strong, too, which helps me a lot in deciding my teams, although I wouldn't mind to make a practical option or powerhouse of a Pokémon that I really like and isn't up to the higher standards either because of its stats or weaknesses.

 

[XxLTxX]

I always pick the ones i never used before. I also do not like using really strong pokemon like Excadrill or Darmanitian (dont know how to spell). I usually pick something like Sceptile.
Since i like duck pokemon, i ALWAYS catch them. If i used them in my team before, i dont use them.

 

[AlphaOmegaSin]

I battle casually, so my teams reflects that; however, I try to choose what I like, while making sure it's suitable for my casual-ish needs.

 

[Venator]

I guess a mixture of both? My current team in Black 2 (Serperior, Azumarill, Ampharos, Crobat, Flygon, Chandelure) isn't particularly weak but, out of the six, I only truly like Serperior, Flygon and Chandelure. I just respect the other three considerably and know what they are capable of, though Azumarill was more of an experiment. That worked.

 

[CynthiaLover]

For me, it's all about favorites. I don't care if they're super strong or very popular, and I never really care much about competitive battling, so I just go with favorites and what I like, even if it throws off balance in my team. While some of my choices are often popular or very strong (Garchomp, for example, being my favorite Dragon-type), I don't really care about that stuff. I play the games to have fun and relieve stress, so that kind of stuff really doesn't faze me much, if at all. Again, I care little for competitive play, so anything I catch and raise is designed for my enjoyment of the game. It's probably why I stopped using Legendary Pokemon after Gen 3, since they just didn't seem to "click" with me anymore. Back in the past I'd use them, but I had little idea what I was doing in the first place, so I used that power as an excuse for that, but now, it just doesn't tempt me as it did before. So, it's all about favorites, and if they pack the power or popularity, then that's a bonus.

 

[cityvillain]

I use a random generator to build my team.

 

[Jyo]

(1st post, aside from Introduction thread) - like some other have mentioned, I like to have a mixture. Like my black2 team: Floatzel (level 58), Watchog (level 55), Liepard (level 56), Arcanine (level 54), Zebstrika (level 55), and Samurott (level 50).

I want to have at least two Pokemon that would be strong against the Elite 4/Champion. its the Pokemon I will most likely use the Rare Candy on.

three that I like, that aren't exactly cat-like, and I want to try out.

and the "native cat-Pokemon of the region" (Persian in Kanto/Johto, Delcatty in Hoenn, Purugly and Luxray for Sinnoh, and Liepard for Unova).

 

[Water Max]

I think I do a mixture of both options. I usually choose Pokémon that I haven't used before. I may choose Pokémon because I want to keep some Pokémon which I like in my team but I still want to balance the types of my team members. For example, I chose Drapion and Starmie for my Black 2 team because they were Pokémon I hadn't used before and their types are very different to types of my Emboar, Eelektross, Ferrothorn, Flygon and I started to like those 2 Pokémon.

 

[Hedface]

I'm a fan of the oldie & goodies. Even if a 'mon isn't good in competitive scenarios, in-game is less of a hassle.

 

[Rin-chan]

Most of the time, I'll try to find a high level wild Pokemon, or even a low level one and catch it. I'll train it, and stuff. I like strong Pokemon though. I try to train all of my team to be strong but it's just so difficult because most of the time I only focus on one Pokemon in my team and not the others. ;u; But yeah, I usually try to get all Strong Pokemon before the Elite Four and everything cause that helps a lot.

 

[Geo Prime]

i use pokemon that I like. I don't really care if they're not as strong as, say gyarados or garchomp

 

[Crackseed]

Given that at the moment I'm a casual player, I tend to pick what I find cool/interesting, though fortunately alot of the pokemon I find cool/interesting are generally potent [Gengar, Krookodile] mixed with a few weaker but useable mons.

I do not really use Legendaries even if I love them and this was reinforced for me when I gave Genesect a spin in Black 2 and was just sort of feeling like a total cheese as he wiped EVERYTHING off the map, even if it was a Fire pokemon. So while I really love some of the Legendaries, I just don't feel like I'm challenging myself if I use them :\

 

[Mitchman]

Pokemon that I like, and its pretty fun. When it comes to pre-league however. After the league all bets are off and I start to build a more serious random matchup team that can be useful. Going back to the pre-league I tend to use Pokemon a lot of the more serious players tend to discredit apparently, but who cares. See what I mean is this:
Roserade
Ampharos
Flygon
Emboar
Krookodile
Unfeazant

That's my B2W2 team as of yet. Nothing special, but I manage to get by with it quite alright. Quick Claw Ampharos with Cotton Spore+Electroball is useful enough, and with my recent Pokerus discovery getting it some proper HP stats is going along wonderfully, Flygon in a sandstorm with bulldoze is a proper sweeper and a good dragonslayer at the same time, and Roserade is powerful enough to preform petal dance and finishing before it gets confused.